Improvement in preserving composition roofs



PATENTED JULY '7, 1868. P. 0. ROGERS.

PRESERVING COMPOSITION ROOFS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

r. o: Roenes, or ninas, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT. I N PRESERVING COMPOSITION ROOFS.

Specilieation iormiug part of Letters Patent No. 79,601, dated July 7',186B.

.To ,au whom it lmaq/vconcern: v

Beit known that I, FREDERICK 0. Rosdns, of Niles, inthe county ofBerrien and State of Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Methodof Preserving Composition Roofs; and I do hereby decia-re thaty .thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure `l is a. sectional view,and lFig. 2 a

perspective view, o t' -a composition root' pre' are impervious towater, ir' properly applied,

while-new, but are not durable, remaining tight in our climate but ashort time. I have discovered that the cause of this want ot' durabilityis due "to the heat of the sun acting `upon the bituminous ingredientsunder the iniuence of dryness of the atmosphere and of thev roofitself-in other words, that a conditionof` dryness' and heat speedilyimpairs such roofs, while moisture and coolness preserve them and insuretheir longevity.

The melting heat ofl a summer sun dissipates the volatile portions ofthe bitumen or other pitch by evaporation, and the oily portions, orsuch as become fluid under solar heat, are absorbed by the felt, boards,or other underlying porous substances, aided by capillary attraction;This process, continued for some time, deprives the composition of itssoftness and-pliability, and it becomes rigid,

'and brittle, fracturing, uuder`its contraction at cold temperatures,and leakage results, necessitating a renewal of the composition orcement- By maintaining a condition in which mQisture and protection from'the' intense heat of the suns rays are combined the bituminous parts othese roofing compounds will be retained for a great length oftime,'insuring elasticity sutiieient to enable ordinary expansion andcontraction to take place without cracking, and keep the pores closedand the roof impervious to m'osture.- In order to insure this condition,l. treat composition roofs in the following manner:

Previous to applying the composition the boarding or other foundationshould Abe prepared on a level or nearly level plane, with f noimoreinclination than'is suieicnt to dra-iu lwater to the conductor-pipe orpoint of dis-A charge. At the outer edge ofthe .roof a ledge or barriershould be raised to a' height of several inches, and .under someconditions con-I siderably more. The cement or composition should then'be applied in the usual manner to the'whole surface ot' the root', andcontinned up the sides and upon the top or edge of the surrounding wallor barrierL/sc that the whole shall be rendered impervious to water. Thespace thus formed over thewhole area ot' the root'- forms aretaining-reservoir for such 1 materials as are required to maintain thecouditions of humidity and low and uniform -temperature to enect thepreservation of the composition covering. 'Protection is then insured bycovering the entire root'. .with porous' matc-V rials, kept saturatedwithwater, or other-,porous matter which will absorb, attract, and

retain water or moisture and intercept theexl treme heat of the' sun,thus maintaining in a considerable degree an equable temperature. Forthis vpurpose any material of suticient porosity of structure which .ismost readily procured in the locality may be employed-as sawdust,groundand 'spent tan-bark, pulverized stone, sand or gravel, and manykinds of earth or soil, or vegetable products, as seagrass, moss,greensward, hemp, tow, sponge, or other fibrous or porous substances notsub ject to decay; or, in situations where it is expedient, water alonemay bc used by iiooding the root` to a depth of a -few inches. Thesemeans or agents serve to insure the required protection against theabsorption of heat. rendering the rooms beneath more tenautable inextreme weather, and maintain coolness'and equality of temperature,prevent the evapo- ,rations and melting of thebituminous. ingredientsand insure. the preservation of the ro'of, while eonagrations airealmost entirely prevented fromoecurring at thc' roofa portion of thebuilding which is generally the most exposed.

Asrepresented in the drawings, a, Fig. 1, shows the rafters or ioistssupporting the roof- .boarding b b,'c c .being brackets attached to theouter Walls, d d, for supporting projecting portions of the roof. e isthe cement or coinposition covering of the roof, extending up the sidesot" the elevated barrier f f, which surrounds the edges of the roof.'The overflow-pipe g starts from an extension, h, of the well or barrierf, at a. point suiiiciently elevated above the `plane of the roof toretain :ts-much Water as is requisite to keep the moisture-retainingmaterials s/fttureed. This water may be that which is retainedA by thedescribed formation from rain or snow that falls or melts thereon, or,in dry seasons and in localitieswhere rain does not fall in l .suicientquantities, it maybe supplied by mechanical means from the mostconvenient.

roofs', of chemical agents which' attract moist'- l 'i ure from theatmosphere, und by retniningit serve the purpose ot' maintaining therequisite humidity and low temperature. 'lo this end hygrometric saltsand like substances may be advantageously employed in situations where asupply of water cannot be easily obtnined by ordinary methods. i

A pipe and cock should be provided in the barrier f at the lowest pointinlthe plane of the roof proer,to enable the' moisture folie drawn 'offfor examination and repairs'of the roof, or during winter,=when innorthern climates protection is not essential.

The elevatedwall f serves asa. protection to the fibrous or poroussubstances used upon the roof against the action of the wind, whichmight otherwise, if exposed at thel cd ges, be blown offat times. y

What I claim as my invention, 'und desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

The within-described method of preserving cement and l compositionroofs, substantiallyr as set forth. -f 1n witness whereof I havehereunto signed my name in the presence of tvvo subscribing witnesses. l

Witnesses: J. FRASER,

P. F. Limmen#

